Rumor Has It
by BeautifullyChaotic49
Summary: Suzaku finds himself in a perplexing situation involving the hottest guy on campus. The rumors have spread far beyond anyone's control and it would have been mortifying if deep down Suzaku didn't wish for it to be true.
1. RHI: You're HIS Lover

**Rumor Has It: ****You're HIS Lover**

* * *

Suzaku has no idea how he ended up in this situation. This seemed to be happening to him quite a bit these days. But this last time took the cake. It would have been mortifying if deep down Suzaku didn't wish for it to be true. Ok, maybe not true, but possible. In the future. And not the near future but maybe the far future? He wasn't that kind of guy.

But then again he was HOT.

So maybe you're wondering what has Suzaku so perplexed. To explain this, we'll have to go back to the beginning. To the day one Suzaku Kururugi started college, because, after all, that was when he first heard about HIM.

Who is HIM, you may ask? Why Lelouch Lamperouge of course. He's only the hottest, most sexiest, extremely gorgeous guy on campus. Heck, he was probably the reason why so much people applied to go to Ashford University this year. This was the biggest freshman class the university has had in years. It's funny to think that most of the applicants were girls, most likely from the same high school Lelouch went to, but it's true. Very true.

Lelouch's high school fan base followed him here and has only more than tripled with all the girls (and boys, yes, there a few boys) who joined once Lelouch set foot on campus. One look at him and more than half of the campus, from freshmen to seniors, fell head-over-heels for him.

Lelouch hadn't been on campus for more than an hour and he was already possibly the most popular guy on campus. Which was why it was natural for Suzaku to have heard about him. Almost everyone Suzaku walked by was talking about him.

Suzaku hasn't seen this Lelouch yet but he was curious to see if Lelouch really lived up the status he was given. But right now Suzaku had other matters to tend to, like finding his dorm room.

Taking the elevator up to the third floor, Suzaku walked out and made his way down the hall until he say the room number that was assigned to him.

Hearing a voice at the other side of the door, Suzaku wasn't sure if whether to knock or just walk in. Suzaku settled with doing both and knocked on the door first, to alert the roommate that he was coming in and opened the door.

The roommate that had been unpacking his bags looked up and met eyes with Suzaku.

Forest Green on ocean blue.

The roommate's face blossomed into a huge grin as he jumped up and dashed over to Suzaku, swinging an arm around his shoulders. "Welcome, roomie!"

Suzaku was slightly taken aback by this gesture and if it wasn't for Suzaku's good balance, he would have probably toppled over by the force the guy used to lean on Suzaku.

"Er…thanks?" Suzaku said as he studied his roommate. His roommate was taller than him and had blonde hair and blue eyes. "Nice to meet you, I'm Suzaku Kururugi."

"Woah, why so formal?"The boy said as he releases Suzaku in favor of grabbing Suzaku's bags from him and carrying them over to the bed that would be Suzaku's. "Let's be friends."

Suzaku followed the blonde into the room. He was a force of enthusiastic energy that scared Suzaku a little. How did he end up in this situation?

_He wasn't always like this, was he?_

"I didn't introduce myself, did I?" The blonde asked. Suzaku honestly thought that he had completely forgotten about that. "I'm Gino. Gino Weinberg."

Suzaku nodded, unsure of what to say next. Quite frankly, Suzaku was terrible when meeting new people. He just didn't know what to say sometimes, especially if he didn't know anything both of them might have in common. Having something in common gave Suzaku something to talk about, which was probably why most of his friends were his teammates from the sports team he played in. Suzaku loved sports.

Suzaku caught his mind wandering and realized that Gino had been talking the whole time. More like rambling. He was saying something about how his stuff was Suzaku's and how Suzaku was free to use his TV, microwave and fridge.

_Woah, this guy came prepared._

Suzaku thought as he nodded and muttered some thanks at to what Gino was saying.

"…lucky that we're in this dorm. It's going to be packed with girls all the time!" Gino said.

_Wait, what?_

He really had to stop zoning out like that.

"Packed with girls? Why?" Suzaku asked.

"The 'hottest guy in campus' lives in this dorm too. Don't know which floor though. Either way, with him here, all the girls will be here too!" Gino said, almost too excitedly.

_Well what do you know..._

It was easy to see that Gino was the really friendly type and Suzaku found that he was alright with that.

~ 0 ~

It was what college students called "syllabus week." That meant no work or homework to do. This semester began on Thursday, giving students two days worth of syllabus lectures and a weekend before classes officially started on Monday. So far, Suzaku's Thursday classes had lived up to that and now it was Friday.

The last class of the day for Suzaku was science. It was fitting that this class was his last since this subject wasn't exactly his strong point. Walking into the classroom, Suzaku saw that is was made up of lab stations and each station had two seats to them, meaning students had to sit in pairs. Suzaku sat down in an empty seat and waited for the remaining students to walk in.

That's when it happened. HE walked in. The most gorgeous guy Suzaku had ever laid eyes on. Silky, dark black hair that contrasted with his pale, porcelain skin. Striking amethyst eyes. Tall and thin. He walked in with enough grace and authority to attract the attention of everyone in the room.

That HAD to be Lelouch.

Suzaku was in awe. The rumors were true. He was absolutely stunning! It took the pain from his hanging, open jaw for him to notice he was outright staring. Snapping his mouth shut, Suzaku tried to compose himself as he felt his cheeks heat up from embarrassment.

He was downright drooling over him!

Suzaku glanced around to see if anyone had seen his moment of embarrassment and he noticed that all the other students in the room were gazing at Lelouch as well.

The boy sat down to the back of the room as the teacher finally walked into the classroom.

"Hello~!" Said the professor, loud enough to get the attention of the class away from Lelouch. "This is a first-year, introduction to science class, so if you're in the wrong class hurry up and leave ~!"

This professor seemed a bit…eccentric. He had white hair, glasses, and wore a white lab coat.

"Well, now that that's taken care of I'll introduce myself. I'm Lloyd Asplund but you can all just call me Lloyd."

Lloyd went searching in the bad he brought with him and pulled out a folder. He pulled out a small stack of paper and handed it to the student closest to him.

"Take one and pass those along, will you?" The professor asked. The female student nodded and did as told while Lloyd continued. "The syllabus is coming around but I don't care to go over it now, go over it on your own. Unless someone wants us to go over it now?"

Lloyd barely scanned the room for half a second to see if anyone would raise their hand before continuing. "Good, now, on to more important matters, I quite frankly find lectures to be absolutely boring. That's why we will be doing experiments and such in here more than anything else. You will all be assigned lab partners and a work station."

Lloyd pointed at a sticker pasted on one of the desks. "The stations have numbers on them. These numbers will correspond to your group." Lloyd then pulled out a little plastic cup from his bag. "I have some papers in here, each with a number written on them. There are 2 pairs of each number and your partner will be the person with the same number you have. Once you know who your partner is, sit at the station that has the same number. Simple enough?"

The professor walked around the classroom, allowing everyone to pull out a folded piece of paper. By the look on most of the girl's faces, anyone could tell that they were wishing with all their might to be paired with Lelouch.

It would be a dream come true for them.

When the professor cam by Suzaku, Suzaku put his hand in the cup and grabbed the first slip of paper that brushed his fingertips and pulled it out.

_# 4_

Suzaku glanced around the classroom, joining the people who had begun to murmur and search for their partner. Unfortunately, some dreams were crushed when some girls found their partner and it wasn't Lelouch.

Suzaku almost felt sorry for them. Almost. It was more amusing than anything else.

Suzaku felt someone tap his shoulder and turned to see a girl. The girl showed him their slip of paper and asked, "#7?"

"No, sorry, I have #4." Suzaku answered.

The girl nodded and went on to ask the remaining people who were still wandering around and asking each other what number they had. Suzaku looked around for Lelouch, curious to see if he had his partner yet and who the lucky person was when he heard someone speak to him from behind.

A someone with a deep, sexy voice.

"Did you say #4?" The person asked.

Suzaku turned to face the person to come face to face with deep violets.

Lelouch.

He held out a slip of paper for Suzaku to see: #4.

_Oh…_

He was the lucky one. How did he end up in this situation?

~ 0 ~

After the professor had written down the pairs, he ended class and let the students leave early. Suzaku was grateful for that. He wasn't sure if he would have been able to stand the glares from the girls in the room. They probably absolutely hated him now.

There went any of his chances, if he had any before, that is.

They should be thankful that it is him, shouldn't they? They wouldn't have to worry about some coquette flirting with the Lelouch they obsessed over so much.

Suzaku walked into his dorm room and threw down his bag at the feet of his bed. Falling unto the bed on his back, Suzaku laid there and observed the ceiling. His classes were done for the day but now he didn't have anything to do.

Suzaku glanced at his suitcases. He still had to finish unpacking, but he didn't feel like it. He also wanted to check out the sports teams here on campus. They were one of the reasons why he picked this campus anyway. Ashford University had a wide variety of teams Suzaku could choose from. Basketball, baseball, tennis, soccer, football, swimming, golf. You name it.

But he didn't feel like doing that either. Suzaku rolled over unto his side and just laid there for a while. His classes weren't so bad. This campus wasn't so bad either. He made the right choice coming here.

Before Suzaku knew it, he had fallen asleep. He had no idea how long he slept, just that something heavy landed on his bed next to him, startling him awake.

Wide green eyes met with blue.

"Gino?" Suzaku asked as he sat up.

Suzaku realized that Gino had jumped unto his bed, effectively waking him. The blonde was currently on Suzaku's bed, head resting on his hand.

"Time to get up or you'll miss the party!" Gino beamed at him.

"Party?" Suzaku asked.

"Party!" Gino said, sitting up. "We have to party before classes start."

"Classes already started."

"No, not officially. They technically start next week. This is the last weekend before we lose our social lives to homework and studying!"

Gino stood up and Suzaku noticed that he was dressed rather nicely. The sleeveless shirt he was wearing really showed off the muscles in his arms.

"Nah, that's ok."

"You're not coming?" The blonde said, mock pout on his face.

"No, I'm fine. I'd rather stay here and watch a movie or something."

"That's no fun!"

A teenage guy came by Gino and Suzaku's open door and knocked on it. "Hey, Gino, let's go."He was one of Gino's friends, it seemed.

Gino nodded at the guy and then addressed Suzaku as he walked out. "Alright then. Oh and there's soda in the fridge. Help yourself. See ya later."

And with that Gino closed the door behind him as he walked out, leaving Suzaku sitting on his bed alone. Suzaku didn't really mind being alone. He was pretty used to it by now.

True to his word, Suzaku pulled out his laptop and looked up a movie. He could use Gino's TV, but that involved turning it on and channel flipping till he found something good, if he did at all. That felt like too much work.

_God, I'm so lazy today._

He did get a soda though. He was a bit thirsty.

Suzaku was on his second soda and only 30 minutes in to his fourth movie for the night before he drifted off to sleep again. Well, almost drifted off to sleep. The sudden wet spot under his arm woke him up to see his soda spilling. Suzaku quickly grabbed it and lifted it upright. It was too late though, his bed got pretty wet.

_Damn._

Glancing at his digital clock, Suzaku saw that it was 2:09 AM.

_Nobody would be doing laundry at this hour, right?_

Removing the sheets from the bed, Suzaku made his way down to the first floor, where the washing machines were located. The 2nd, 3rd, and 4th floors of this dorm had lounges. Suzaku walked by the empty 3rd floor lounge on his way to the stairs.

Taking the stairs to the 1st floor, Suzaku walked to the laundry room and saw that his predictions were correct. All 6 washing machines were empty. Who would be washing the first week of classes anyway?

Suzaku stuffed his sheets into the washing machine and pushed the button to start it. The timer on the washing machine displayed: 34. Suzaku had to come back in 34 minutes to move his sheets into the dryer. He then made his way back upstairs to the third floor, pass the empty lounge, and into his room.

Suzaku busied himself by cleaning the soda that soaked though into his mattress and changing that boring movie he picked. Glancing at his clock again, Suzaku saw that it was 2:52. That was about half an hour right?

Suzaku made his way downstairs again, back to the laundry room. He put his sheets into the dryer and pushed the button to start it. The machine displayed: 60. In about an hour then.

Suzaku sighed as he made his way back upstairs and pass the empty lounge again. Except that this time it wasn't empty. Glancing in, Suzaku saw that a person was laying down on one of the couches, covered by a sheet. Said person had distinct raven hair and pale, porcelain looking skin.

_Lelouch?_

Suzaku was glad that the rooms began after the lounge and that he was able to hide behind the wall. It didn't seem like Lelouch had noticed him walk by anyway.

_What is he doing there? Wait, why do I care? He can be wherever he wants._

Suzaku continued his walk down the hall and went it his room. Sitting down on his bed, Suzaku stared at his laptop and sighed. He was going back there again. He was too nosy for his own good.

_He is my lab partner. Saying 'hi' won't hurt._

Suzaku got up and walked out of his room and made his way back to the lounge.

_So he lives on the 3__rd__ floor…_

Walking into the lounge, Suzaku saw that Lelouch hadn't moved.

_Is he sleeping?_

As if to answer him, Lelouch's head suddenly popped up from beneath the sheets. Noticing Suzaku standing there, Lelouch's violet eyes went wide. Suzaku's own eyes mirrored Lelouch's as he didn't expect him to suddenly move.

"Um-hi…I…" Suzaku wracked his brain for a sentence that didn't sputter embarrassingly.

"Suzaku, right?" Lelouch asked, calm and composed. His voice sounded even sexier to Suzaku now.

_He remembers my name? Well, yeah, we're partners but…_

"Y-yeah." Suzaku sputtered again.

_Damn it! Get it together! Don't make a fool of yourself in front of the hottest guy on campus!_

Suzaku cleared his throat. "Yes, Lelouch, right?"

As if he had a doubt. EVERYONE knew who THIS boy was.

Lelouch nodded as he sat up. "Yeah, you live in this dorm?"

"Yeah, this floor too, actually. I didn't know you lived here as well."

_Yeah, right._

"Yeah, second floor though."

"Second?"

_Then what are you doing on the 3__rd__ floor? Not that you can't be…_

Lelouch seemed to pick up on Suzaku's unasked question.

"The 2nd floor lounge is occupied. I wanted to sleep so that wasn't ideal."Lelouch said.

"Sleep?"

Lelouch glanced away from Suzaku, seemingly not wanting to answer. But before Suzaku could tell him to forget about it, Lelouch looked back at Suzaku.

"My roommate is..." Lelouch seemed to search for the right words. "…busy…."

Suzaku blinked. "Busy?"

What was with him and one word questions?

Lelouch glanced away again and Suzaku could see a light shade of red forming on his cheeks. And then it finally dawned on Suzaku what Lelouch meant by "busy."

"O-oh…You mean…?" Suzaku began to ask.

Lelouch nodded as he met Suzaku's eyes again. "My roommate's having sex."

"Ah…I see…"

"I was sleeping and woke up to…noises."

_Oh. Well that must have been awkward._

"Oh, so that's why you came to sleep here?"

"Yeah, I just left. Really pissed me off." Lelouch said, a scowl over his beautiful features now.

Surprisingly, he looked even more stunning that way.

The words were out before Suzaku could stop them. "You can crash by my room of you want."Lelouch genuinely looked surprised at Suzaku's words. Suzaku felt as equally surprised. "I mean – it's better than sleeping in the lounge..."

"Ah, thanks but – "

"It'll honestly be ok. My roommate is out for the night so you won't be a bother." Suzaku said as he scratched the back of his head. He could feel his cheeks heat up. "Just until…um…y'know…"

Lelouch sat there for a second, contemplation written on his face. He then smiled lightly at Suzaku, making Suzaku's heart thump in his chest much harder than before.

"Yeah, sure…if it's alright with you…" Lelouch finally said.

"Yeah, it's cool." Suzaku assured.

Lelouch got up from the couch and picked up his sheets and pillow. He then followed Suzaku to his room. Suzaku held the door open for Lelouch and walked in behind him. Closing this door, Suzaku watched as Lelouch glanced around the room.

"Cozy…"Lelouch said, a smirk on his thin lips.

Quite frankly, the room was barren. Neither he nor Gino finished unpacking yet. There was nothing on their desks or walls.

Suzaku smiled at Lelouch. "Isn't it?" Suzaku then saw as Lelouch dropped his sheets and pillow unto the floor. "Wait, what are you doing?"

Lelouch blinked at him. "Making myself at home?"

"Not on the floor you're not."

"I'm not sleeping in your roommate's bed."

"No, mine."

Lelouch stared at Suzaku blankly for a second as the words that had left Suzaku's mouth finally reached his ears. Suzaku felt himself blush. Hard.

"N-no, not like that!" Suzaku quickly tried to correct himself. "What I mean is – you can sleep on my bed! I'll take the floor."

"I'm not kicking you out of your own bed."

"And I'm not letting my guest sleep on the cold, hard floor."

"Your bed doesn't even have sheets." Lelouch said as he pointed at Suzaku's bed.

"Wha?" Suzaku glanced down at his barren bed and then at his clock that displayed: 4:05. "Crap! The laundry!" Suzaku ran out of the room, shouting back at Lelouch: "Be right back!"

_An hour went by that fast already?_

Suzaku ran into the laundry room. No one was there. Why was he in such a rush? No one else was doing laundry tonight. Suzaku sighed as he pulled his sheets out of the dryer and made his way back upstairs.

Upon walking into his room, Suzaku saw that Lelouch had ignored his requests had laid down on the floor, sheets up to his chin.

Suzaku wasn't having that.

Suzaku dropped his relatively warm sheets on Lelouch, earning a "Hey!" from him before Suzaku stooped down and put his arms under Lelouch. One under his knees and the other under his back as he lifted Lelouch up, bridal style.

That earned Suzaku a gasp.

"Suzaku! Put me down!" Lelouch yelled at Suzaku as he tried to untangle the sheets covering his head and body.

Suzaku smirked at Lelouch's futile attempts. He was surprisingly light, Suzaku noted. He could easily carry Lelouch off anywhere.

Suzaku dropped Lelouch unto his bed and watched with amusement as Lelouch finally untangled the sheets from himself. He glared up at Suzaku through his now messy hair. Honestly, he looked as scary as an angry kitten.

Suzaku couldn't help the laugh that escaped his lips. He laughed so hard that he didn't notice the deep blush in Lelouch's face.

"W-what are you laughing at!?" Lelouch asked, trying to sound angry but his voice came out more embarrassed than anything else.

"Y-you!" Suzaku said between his laughter.

Lelouch huffed as he pulled the sheets unto the bed, not realizing that Suzaku had been stepping on the corners that had been on the floor. Suzaku let out a startled yelp as he slipped and fell forward, unto Lelouch. Lelouch yelped as Suzaku landed on him as well.

Suzaku quickly threw out his arms and braced his hands on either side of Lelouch's head, effectively not squashing him. Bringing his face up, Suzaku's emeralds met Lelouch's amethyst. Face to face. Chest to chest. Crotch to…crotch?

Suzaku immediately lifted his body off of Lelouch's. His face felt boiling hot. He knew his face was as red as a tomato. But his face wasn't the only one. Lelouch's face was crimson red too.

How did he end up in this situation?

Both boys tried to speak at the same time: "I – !"

They stared at each other for a few more seconds before Suzaku attempted to speak.

"S-sorry…" Suzaku said as he got off of Lelouch.

Lelouch simply nodded. Both boys were still blushing and couldn't look each other in the eye. Suzaku stepped back as Lelouch watched his every movement and gestured to the floor.

"I'll – um…sleep on the ground…" Suzaku began before Lelouch cut him off.

"N-No, it's ok…um…stay…" Lelouch said, as he moved over on the bed.

Suzaku blinked at Lelouch and saw as the raven haired boy looked away from Suzaku, blush resurfacing. Suzaku felt a smile tug at the corner of his lips but willed it away as he nodded.

"Ok…but we have to fix the bed sheets…" Suzaku said.

Lelouch quickly sat up, face burning again. "R-right! Of course."

After they fixed up Suzaku's bed, both boys laid down on it. It was a bit awkward at first, but eventually they both got comfortable enough. The room was silent now, but it wasn't a bad silent.

Suzaku took a breath before he said: "Night, Lelouch."

A few seconds later, Suzaku got his response. "Night, Suzaku."

~ 0 ~

Suzaku would like to say that he woke up pressed against a soft warmth, with silky strands of hair caressing his nose and cheeks, but that wasn't exactly what happened. It was that plus a sudden bump unto his noise and a high pitched yelp.

Suzaku immediately woke up when the hard object hit his nose and sat up, a bit startled to come face to face with blue eyes.

This seemed to be happening a lot lately.

It took a moment for Suzaku to register that Gino was kneeling on the side of Suzaku's bed. The same side Lelouch had slept on, who was currently sitting up as well and pushing his back unto Suzaku and rubbing the back of his own head.

"Woah, sorry, I didn't mean to startle you!" Gino said as he addressed Lelouch, putting up his hands in a gesture of surrender.

Ah, it was Lelouch's head that hit Suzaku's nose and his yelp that woke him.

_Wait. Gino. And there's Lelouch. In my bed._

"You looked so cute. I couldn't resist caressing your innocent face." Gino continued to tell Lelouch.

Suzaku couldn't see Lelouch's expression from the angle he was at, but by the sorry look on Gino's face, it couldn't have been pleasant. Suzaku noted the dim lights shining through the blinds. It was morning already?

Gino suddenly locked eyes with Suzaku. "How'd you get the hottest guy on campus into your bed!? It hasn't even been a week!"

That caused both Suzaku and Lelouch to blush furiously.

_Stupid Gino! _

"I-we didn't-!" Lelouch began at the same time Suzaku began to sputter out words.

"It's not like that-!" Suzaku said as he moved back, giving some space between him and Lelouch.

Lelouch quickly gathered up his sheets and his pillow. "Gotta go." He hastily said as he all but ran out of the room.

Suzaku and Gino watched him go. Suzaku with a red face and Gino with a wide smirk.

"You sly dog. That's why you didn't want to go out last night, huh?" Gino said as he got up from the floor.

"N-No! You got it all wrong!" Suzaku protested as he got up from his bed.

"How did you do it? Cause I mean, practically the whole campus is after him and he's never showed interest in anyone. But then here you come along and seduce him with your ol'Suzaku charm, huh?" Gino said as he nudged Suzaku's arm with his elbow and winked at him.

"No! You're misunderstanding! It was nothing like that. Nothing happened!" Suzaku said as he pushed Gino's elbow away.

"Sure….I'm watching you Suzaku. You're sneakier than I thought."

_Urgh! There is no getting through to this guy!_

Suzaku sighed as he sat back down at the edge of his bed and buried his head in his hands. This was quite embarrassing.

How did he end up in this situation?

~ 0 ~

Monday morning was Hell. Everyone was glaring at Suzaku. At first, he had no idea why but then a certain Friday night crept into his mind.

_NO WAY._

After Suzaku finished his first class, he hunted down Gino. There was just no way. What the hell did he tell his friends?

Spotting the blonde walking down the hallway with some friends, Suzaku marched up to him.

"What the hell did you say?" Suzaku demanded.

Gino linked at him. "What are you talking about?"

"What did you say? I know you can see how they're all glaring at me!" Suzaku said as he gestured around himself.

Gino glanced around and sure enough, most of the students around them were either making angry faces at Suzaku or whispering among each other while throwing dirty glances Suzaku's way.

"I didn't say anything." Gino said.

One of Gino's friends suddenly stepped forward and held out a fist for Suzaku to bump. "Hey, you're the one who slept with Lelouch, right? Damn, you got lucky."

Suzaku ignored the guy and his fist and glared at Gino, who quickly amended his statement.

"Say anything that wasn't true."Gino corrected.

"I told you it wasn't like that!" Suzaku defended himself yet again.

"I never said that – I only confirmed that he stayed in your bed that night."

"What?"

"People saw him run out of our room, with his sheets and stuff. They asked me what happened and I just told them that he was sleeping with you."

"What!?"

"Hey, it's the truth man."

This was absolutely mortifying. Why? The whole university thought that he had slept with Lelouch!

Not that Suzaku didn't like the idea. Far from it. But then again, he wasn't that kind of guy. Plus, it didn't actually happen….yet...in the future. Far future. Do we have to go through all this again? He was HOT!

Ahem.

Now, I'm sure you're thinking that this must be the perplexing situation our young hero Suzaku Kururugi found himself in at the beginning of this story.

Well, not exactly. While it was quite scandalous, it didn't exactly take the cake. At least, not in Suzaku's opinion. What happened afterward did.

Suzaku, naturally, thought that the right thing to do was to clear things up. So, he sought out Lelouch in hopes of apologizing to him for the spread of this really infectious (the whole campus probably knew already) rumor and to hopefully help him set things straight.

That was not the case.

After a rather long day of searching for Lelouch, the raven haired beauty was nowhere to be found. Suzaku had all but given up and decided to stop by his room before resuming his search and that's where he saw him. Lelouch was sitting the floor, by the wall next to Suzaku's dorm room. Waiting for him.

"Lelouch?" Suzaku asked as he walked up to him.

Lelouch looked up at him upon hearing his name called and quickly stood up. "Suzaku."

"I'm sorry. I didn't know this was going to turn out like this. I should have cleared things up with Gino but – " Suzaku shut his rambling as Lelouch held up a hand, signaling for Suzaku to stop.

"It's ok."Lelouch said, rather calmly in Suzaku's opinion.

"It's ok?"

Lelouch nodded. "I'm not angry or anything. Far from it." Upon seeing the questioning look on Suzaku's face, Lelouch continued. "Listen, I'm actually here to ask a favor of you."

"Favor…?"

Lelouch's determined violet eyes met Suzaku's steadily. "Is it ok if we keep up this lie for a while?"

If Suzaku was surprised before, this time we was downright blown away.

"What!?" Suzaku asked, almost incredulously.

How did he end up in this situation?

"Just hear me out. This is the most peace I've had in a while. People have stopped bothering me ever since they thought you and I were together."Lelouch ran his fingers through his dark hair as he broke eye contact with Suzaku. "No more love confessions. No more obnoxious flirting. It's like they're finally giving me my space. Space that I haven't had since before I started school. High school was hell. I just don't want my college days to be like that again."

Suzaku nodded, still trying to wrap his head around Lelouch's request. Mr. Super Gorgeous, was asking plain, old sporty Suzaku, to pretend to be his lover? Just so that he wouldn't have people pestering him?

"We don't…have to do anything. Just say 'yes' when people ask if we're together." Lelouch said as he finally looked at Suzaku, a light shade of pink dusting his cheeks. Suzaku could feel his own cheeks heat up slightly at the thought.

Lelouch suddenly turned away from Suzaku. "Y'know what? Never mind. Forget I asked."

"What? Wait!" Suzaku called out as he grabbed Lelouch's arm, stopping him from walking away. "I'll do it." The words were out before Suzaku could think them through.

Lelouch's eyes widened for a second before he narrowed them. "No, really, it's ok Suzaku. It's not fair of me to ask you such a favor. I don't even know what possessed me to ask you that in the first place."

"And I'm telling you that I'll do it."Suzaku stared into Lelouch's eyes, determination burning in his emerald eyes. "It sounds…fun."

Lelouch blinked at Suzaku. "Fun?"

"Fun. I mean, I'd like to see how far this can go. It would be like our little secret. I do, however, expect a favor in return at some point."

Lelouch's lips turned into a smirk. "Naturally." Lelouch held out his hand for Suzaku to take. "We have a deal then?"

Suzaku firmly grasped Lelouch's hand. "Deal."

And so this is what brings us to Suzaku's original perplexing situation. How did he end up in this situation again? Oh, right. He was being his usual, fast acting – no thinking self.

So now this was Suzaku's situation: Pretend to be the hottest, most sexiest, extremely gorgeous guy on campus's lover.

It would have been mortifying if deep down Suzaku didn't wish for it to be true. Ok, maybe not true, but possible. In the future. And not the near future but maybe the far future? He wasn't that kind of guy.

How many times was he going to have to say this!? The guy was freaking HOT!

~ 0 ~

* * *

And it's done!

This is actually based on something that really happened to a friend of mine…well…just the roommate part and then it evolved into this!

Anyway, this is a oneshot – BUT – I'm thinking of maybe writing more for this, that is, if you want to read more. So, if you'd like for this story to develop into something bigger, drop me a review or PM! I'm open to suggestions so feel free to tell me what you think should happen and what not. If you think its fine just the way it is, then that's cool too.

Thank you for reading and I hope you enjoyed!

**Disclaimer:** I don't own anything.


	2. RHI: They Need More Romance

**Rumor Has It: ****They Need More Romance**

* * *

Lelouch was angry at him. No, livid might be a better word. But honestly, Suzaku had no other choice. The decision was practically taken out of his hands. He wasn't the one who proposed they keep up the rumor anyway; Lelouch did. So it was only proper that he suffered some kind of consequence for the lie, right? It was going to happen at one point or another.

What has Lelouch angry at our poor, little Suzaku you may ask? It had all begun with a simple question. A question that revealed how Suzaku and Lelouch's little lie could be easily toppled over.

"When are you going to take Lelouch out on a date? You're serious about him, aren't you?"

This was asked by a blonde female with blue eyes that Suzaku had never seen before in his life. She had just walked up to him as Suzaku had been walking out of his classroom. She of course knew who HE was. He was practically a celebrity now. The "beast" beside the "beauty."

Suzaku had laughed so hard that his eyes teared up and his stomach began to hurt the first time he heard that analogy. So he and Lelouch were "Beauty and the Beast" now? Priceless!

It wasn't so funny after Suzaku thought about it, though. He was the rugged, evil fiend that had swept the gorgeous prince off of his feet.

Suzaku got them back for that though. Whenever someone (typically a very stubborn girl that refused to believe her darling Lelouch preferred a sweaty man over her) asked him if he and Lelouch were together, he'd put on his biggest smirk and puff out his chest as he said: "Yes, yes we are."

_Take that! Who are you calling a beast now!?_

That was usually the end of that. The girl would either get angry and stomp away or burst into tears and run away. This girl however, had asked a different question that had never even occurred to Suzaku before.

_Dating? Isn't being together the same as dating?_

Suzaku blinked at the girl. "Excuse me?" He asked.

"I knew it. It was a one night stand, wasn't it?"The girl said as she folded her arms over her chest.

"No."

"But you two haven't done anything that shows you're a couple. At least, not since last Friday night…" She protested.

Suzaku felt his cheeks heat up. People were still talking about that night? Granted, it hasn't been a week since the scandalous event fueling everyone's gossip occurred, but it should already be last week's news, right? Today was Wednesday already!

"But we are, really." Suzaku said, trying to keep up the deal he made with Lelouch.

"So you guys say. Where's the walking each other to class? The eating together? The hand holding? The kissing?"

My God. This girl was a full-blown fan girl! And she was obviously stalking them or something if she knew all that! Then again, Suzaku hasn't seen Lelouch out of science class since he made the deal with him. Anyone paying attention would notice that the two don't hand out. At all.

The girl continued her now full blown rant. "It's because your relationship is founded on sex! Romance can't thrive like that! You need to shower him with love and affection. You need to buy him roses, and embrace him, and tell him how special he is!"

"I-that's-!" Suzaku tried to interrupt, but the girl was apparently far gone in her rant world.

"It can't all be about sex – sex – sex! I mean, who wouldn't want to hit THAT every moment they can, but having a bond with someone is much more than fulfilling carnal desires! It's like you only seek him out to bang him! He's your man! Your lover! If you don't step up and show your claim, others are going to try and sweep him away from you!"

_OH MY GOD._

A hand landed on the girl's shoulder, effectively (finally) making her shut up and turn around to see none other than Gino. Gino shook his head at the girl, almost as if reprimanding her.

Suzaku had never been happier to see his roommate in his life than in this moment. He got the crazy girl to shut up! Forget that Gino was part of the reason Suzaku was in this situation in the first place. Gino accidently fueling the rumors was just a lapse of judgment…

"It's not sex, Milly, it's _passion_."Gino said with a straight face to the girl, whom he addressed as Milly.

A lapse of judgment that was growing more frequent every day! Suzaku almost face palmed.

_Stupid Gino!_

"They can't help being overcome by a passion so hot that it makes them lust for each other."Gino continued to explain to Milly, like if he was a genius on the subject. To Suzaku's horror, Milly nodded as if it made perfect sense.

Forget face palming, Suzaku was going to slam his face into the floor.

"NO!" Suzaku yelled a bit too loudly. It at least got the attention of both blondes since they looked over at Suzaku. "It's not like that! Lelouch and I….Lelouch and I…"

_Lelouch and I what?_

"Lelouch and I….aren't ready for that yet…."

Both blondes blinked at him.

"But you're ready for sex?" Milly asked.

"Passion." Gino corrected. "Passion is easier than romance."

"No! What I mean is – I don't know how to ask him out!" Suzaku sputtered out.

_Crap. Was that the right thing to say? Lelouch doesn't want people thinking he's single or anything, so…_

Milly and Gino blinked at Suzaku again and then looked at each other, an evil grin forming on both their faces. Suzaku gulped as two pairs of blue eyes locked on him.

"I can take care of that." Milly said.

Suzaku's face turned white. No! He didn't want people meddling in this. Lelouch especially wouldn't want people sticking their noses in this.

"N-no…it's ok…" Suzaku tried to protest as Gino walked around Milly and slung his arm around Suzaku's shoulders.

"Nonsense. We'll help you out." Gino said.

Milly nodded as she said: "Just ask him to hang out on Friday. Don't mention it being a date yet if you don't want to."

Friday? Oh no, Suzaku had tryouts on Friday.

"I don't think I can do Friday…" Suzaku began but was cut off by Milly.

"NO! It has to be Friday!" She shouted.

"What? Why?" Suzaku asked.

"Because it's Valentine's day. The day of lovers and romance! And to make it even more special you and Lelouch hooked up on a Friday night. It's perfect!" Milly said, too enthusiastically for Suzaku's opinion.

"Alright, alright…"Suzaku acquiesced, just to get the blonde to pipe down.

A brilliant thought occurred to Suzaku then.

_Lelouch and I can leave campus and if Lelouch doesn't want to hang out with me, we can just go our separate ways. When it's time to return, we can meet up somewhere later and come back to campus together. Yeah, that can work and that way I won't miss tryouts…_

"Great, we'll meet you…." Milly began but this time she was cut off by Suzaku.

"Wait, what? Who's _we_?" Suzaku asked.

"We're coming, of course!" Gino said, gesturing himself and to a nodding Milly.

"But it's a date." Suzaku all but whined.

"We'll make it a double date." Milly said.

_Noooo! That ruins everything!_

"That won't – " Suzaku tried to protest again but was cut off by Gino.

"Great, it's settled!" Gino said as he released Suzaku and walked over to Milly. The two walked away together, no doubt talking about their plans for Friday night.

Whoever said blondes were dumb? These two were more stubborn than anything else! There's no arguing with them!

And so this was how Suzaku found himself seated on Lelouch's bed, in Lelouch's room, in front of an angry Lelouch. No, maybe seething was a better word.

Suzaku stared at Lelouch as the boy pinched the bridge of his nose with his long, thin fingers. He didn't like the news Suzaku gave him.

"So you're telling me that we're going to have to pretend to be a couple for a whole night? In front of Milly and…and…" Lelouch said as he fished for the name of the male that roped Suzaku and him into this situation.

"Gino." Suzaku supplied.

"Gino. And you say Milly wants…romance?"

Suzaku nodded. "She says that if we're not public with our affections…" Suzaku blushed at that. He was talking as if he and Lelouch really had something. "I mean – with the affections we supposedly hold for each other, then people won't believe we're actually together."

Lelouch slowly nodded at that and then sighed. "I suppose I get what she's saying. Actions often times back up our words."

"Exactly!" Suzaku said a bit too happily, but he quickly toned it down. "That is – if we're going to keep up this lie, we need to make it as convincing as possible so that no one would think about questioning it. At least when other people are around."

"Very well." Lelouch got up from his desk chair. "I suppose going along with whatever will help us with our act can't hurt."

Suzaku nodded. So he and Lelouch were going out on Friday night. On valentines. On a date. Suzaku felt his cheeks heat up as a smile slowly spread across his face. He was going on a date with the sexy, gorgeous Lelouch!

It wasn't real. A part of Suzaku's brain told him that but he decided to ignore it in favor of thinking about what he was going to wear on Friday night. He had to go buy clothes. Nice clothes that won't make him the "beast" dating the "beauty."

~ 0 ~

Friday evening found a Suzaku ready to burst with energy.

Was his outfit good enough? What will Lelouch be wearing? Was he as excited as Suzaku was?

From the mirror Suzaku was looking at, he could see as Gino emerged came up behind him, dressed and ready to go, as he placed his hands on Suzaku's shoulders.

"Looking sharp, my man." Gino said as he gave Suzaku's shoulder a reassuring squeeze.

"Thanks, er…You look rather dashing yourself." Suzaku offered in return.

Gino and Suzaku headed out of their room, but before Gino closed the door, he glanced over at Suzaku.

"You got your keys?" Gino asked.

"Yeah." Suzaku said with a nod.

Gino closed the door. He and Suzaku then made their way to the elevator.

"Our dates are going to meet us outside." Gino told Suzaku who simply nodded at the information.

In reality, Suzaku was a bit nervous. He'd never been on a date before. At all. Much less with a guy. He didn't know what to do. He had no idea what to expect. What about Lelouch? Has he dated before? No doubt Lelouch has been constantly asked out, but has he ever accepted any of the invitations?

_I guess I should follow Gino's lead._

Suzaku and Gino got in the elevator and Gino pressed the button to the 1st floor. As the elevator doors closed, Gino turned to Suzaku.

''I gotta say, I'm a bit jealous." Gino told Suzaku with a sheepish laugh.

Suzaku was momentarily surprised. "Of what?"

"Your date. Man, you're so lucky. I'd give anything to take Lelouch out."

_So even Gino is attracted to Lelouch._

Suzaku pushed that thought to the back of his mind and fished for something clever to say.

"You make it sound like Lelouch were a girl." Suzaku said with a chuckle.

_Wow, clever._

Gino faced Suzaku, serious expression on his face. "Would you want him to be?"

"No…"

"You sure? Cause we can switch dates."

"No! Lelouch is MY date."

"Ooh, is that possessiveness I sense?"

Suzaku couldn't help the blush that blossomed on his face. "No, I Just…he just…"

"Hey, don't worry, I get it. If Lelouch were mine, I'd never let him out of my sights."

For some reason, Gino's words were ticking Suzaku off. Gino sounded WAY too interesting in Lelouch in Suzaku's opinion. How long was this elevator ride?

The elevator reached the 1st floor. Suzaku and Gino walked out of the elevator and made their way outside. Leaning on the outside of the dorm wall, Suzaku and Gino waited for Milly and Lelouch.

Gino, apparently, wanted to continue their conversation. He leaned over to Suzaku as he whispered in his ear: "So, is he the Uke in the relationship?"

Suzaku jumped up from the wall, face crimson red. "Whaaa?"

"You know, the Uke. Milly said that that Uke's bottom. Does he bottom or do you?"

"I-I'm NOT answering THAT!"

"Aww, why not?" Gino said, mock pout on his face.

"It's NONE of your business!"

"Alright, alright, just asking. But Milly definitely thinks that Lelouch is the Uke."

"Just drop it, Gino!"

"She says he doesn't have the physical stamina to be anything but submissive."

"Drop it!"

_Just what do those two talk about? And how would Milly know that, anyway?_

"She said he looks good in a dress, too."

"Gino, I'm warning you – wait, what? Dress? Lelouch has worn a dress?"

Gino nodded. "That's what Milly said."

"Why? I mean – why did he wear a dress?"

"Ooh, you suddenly sound interested. Would you really want Lelouch to be a girl?"

Opening his mouth to answer, Suzaku didn't get any words out before he was interrupted by a loud voice.

"Hello, boys ~ !"

Both boys turned to see Milly walking out of the dorm, waving at them and pulling Lelouch along by his hand. By the look on Lelouch's face, he didn't appreciate being dragged around.

Milly looked beautiful in a dress, but Lelouch was breathtaking. Suzaku must have done something remarkable in his life to be blessed in this way. No wonder he was hated for snatching Lelouch up.

For the second time, Suzaku caught himself with his jaw hanging open. Snapping it shut, he tried to compose himself and look dignified. Glancing at Gino to see if the boy caught Suzaku's awe struck expression, he was met by Gino's own gawking stare. Suzaku could tell – no – he knew that Gino was entranced by HIS Lelouch.

That sparked a wave of jealousy in Suzaku that he had never felt before.

Gino snapped out of the spell he was under when Milly walked up to him and greeted him with a quick hug. She then turned to Suzaku and offered him her hand.

"I don't think I formally introduced myself. My name is Milly Ashford. Pleased to meet your acquaintance."

Brushing his jealousy aside, Suzaku took her hand in his. "Kururugi Suzaku. The pleasure is all mines." Suzaku said as he placed a light kiss to the back of her hand, causing Milly to giggle. As Suzaku released her hand, he quickly asked, "Did you say Ashford? As in – "

"As in Ashford University? Yes. My grandfather is the head of this university." Milly answered with a smile.

_Whoa._

Gino elbowed Suzaku's arm. "You're not the only one who has a date with a status." Gino then focused his attention on Lelouch. "Speaking of which, we haven't been introduced." Taking Lelouch's hand in his, Gino held it close to his lips. "I'm Gino Weinberg."

Lelouch looked slightly surprised by Gino's actions, but acted accordingly. "Lelouch. It's a pleasure."

Suzaku couldn't take the way Gino held Lelouch's hand and the way Gino was looking into Lelouch's eyes. He absolutely hated it.

Suzaku took a step towards them as he cleared his throat, effectively disrupting the mood Gino was trying to create between him and Lelouch.

"Lelouch." Suzaku greeted with a smile.

Lelouch, to Suzaku's relief, looked glad for the distraction as he retracted his hand from Gino's hold and turned to Suzaku.

"Suzaku." He greeted with a light smile.

Suzaku could feel the butterflies in his stomach and his face get warmer as he stared into Lelouch's deep amethyst eyes.

"Is that how lovers should greet each other? Where's the romantic kiss in the cheek? At least give me that." Milly said, bringing Suzaku back to reality.

Lelouch turned to Milly. "I never thought of you as a romantic, Milly."

"Ah, that's where you're wrong my dear, Lulu."

All three males blinked at that, Lelouch, however, for a different reason.

"Lulu?" Both Gino and Suzaku asked at the same time.

"Milly! I told you never to call me that!" Lelouch reprimanded her, but the red on his cheeks didn't help him.

"But it's cute!" Milly protested.

"Um…from where do you two know each other?" Suzaku asked. He was too curious not to ask.

Lelouch grumbled under his breath as he looked away.

"No! We save small talk for dinner. " Milly said as she wrapped her arms around Gino's. She turned and winked at Suzaku and Lelouch. "Let's go, the night isn't getting any younger!"

Lelouch sighed as Suzaku fought back a blush. Milly's wink was a bit suggestive. As Lelouch began to walk, Suzaku instinctively grabbed hold of his hand. Lelouch jumped, a bit startled at Suzaku's sudden action.

Suzaku felt his blush multiply ten folds as Lelouch looked down at their linked hands and then up at Suzaku's face, a questioning expression settled on his beautiful features.

"Um – make it convincing, remember?" Suzaku said, trying his best not to stutter and to sound confident in his actions.

Understanding flashed across Lelouch's features as he relaxed a little. Lelouch then returned Suzaku's grasp and held Suzaku's hand in return. If Suzaku's face was flushed before, now it was positively tomato red.

Side by side, hand in hand, Suzaku and Lelouch trailed after Gino and Milly.

~ 0 ~

The waitress and Lelouch were glaring at each other. Milly had a huge, creepy grin on her face. Gino wouldn't stop dreamily staring at Lelouch. And Suzaku? Suzaku couldn't help but wonder what he got himself into.

Suzaku glanced around the table and then at the waitress again. She had long, lime-green hair and piercing, yellow eyes. They didn't seem to scare Lelouch off though.

"So…that would be 3 medium pizzas? A pepperoni, ham, and meat lovers?" The waitress asked, not removing her eyes from Lelouch's.

"Yup." Milly confirmed.

Lelouch tore his eyes away from the waitress and pinned Milly with a glare.

"Is this your idea of romantic? A pizza place?" Lelouch all but spat out.

_Lelouch must really hate pizza._

"Not just any old pizza place. This is Pizza Hut, boya." The waitress corrected Lelouch, earning another glare from said raven.

"Aww, don't be like that, Lulu. I didn't want our double-date to be stuffy and serious." Milly told Lelouch.

The waitress's eyebrows shot up. "Double date?"

"Go deal with our pizzas, C.C." Lelouch told the waitress.

"My, my, double date? And who are our couples?" C.C asked, almost teasingly.

Milly and C.C then shared an evil grin that sent shivers down Suzaku's spine. By the looks of it, he wasn't the only one who felt it. Gino and Lelouch looked wary too.

Milly grabbed hold of Gino's upper arm as she said, "This is my date, Gino."

C.C looked at Lelouch. "And you?" The teasing tone was still there.

Lelouch gritted his teeth. Honestly, Suzaku was confused. He didn't quite get what was going on. They obviously knew each other and seemed to hate each other too.

"I – this…" Lelouch began to say, but he couldn't seem to finish.

That unsettled Suzaku a little, but why should it? It's not like if they were an actual couple…but they did have to pretend to be. No, what really unsettled Suzaku was the smile slowly spreading on Gino's face. Almost like if he was happy…

And so, with his stubborn pride, Suzaku leaped into action.

"I'm Suzaku, Lelouch's boyfriend."

All eyes were on him. Lelouch's were wide while his cheeks began to color red. The others just gaped at him a little before composing themselves.

C.C was the first to break the silence.

"Really? You two don't seem that way."C.C said as she observed him and Lelouch.

"But we are." Suzaku protested as he scooted close to Lelouch, close enough that their shoulders and knees bumped against each other.

Suzaku then placed his hand on Lelouch's and held it gently. Lelouch stared at Suzaku wide eyed, almost as if Suzaku had grown two heads. Maybe he had and that other head was the one making him act so forward. But Suzaku couldn't back down now. Lelouch had asked him to continue this lie, and that was what he was going to do to the best of his abilities.

Suzaku looked into Lelouch's deep, violet orbs. His nose inched away from Lelouch's. "At least, I'd really like that…"

Suzaku and Lelouch eyes never left each others, even when Suzaku could hear Milly squealing in delight, no doubt happy to witness "romance."

Lelouch closed his eyes, breaking eye contact with Suzaku. When he opened them, he looked as cool and composed as ever. Staring deeply into Suzaku's eyes again, he said, "I'd really like that too."

Milly's squeals got louder, if that was possible but they soon faded away under the growing thump of Suzaku's heart. Could Lelouch hear how hard his heart was beating? Could he feel how sweaty his hand just got? Or how hot his face got?

C.C's snickering brought Suzaku back to reality and he pulled his face away from Lelouch's, much to Milly's displeasure if here whining was anything to go by.

"Aww, that was the perfect moment for a kiss!" Milly whined.

"Take it easy, lover boy." C.C said to Suzaku. She then addressed the group as a whole. "I'll be back with the orders." And with that, she walked away.

Suzaku looked at Lelouch, who was currently glancing off to the side, face still flushed a little. Deciding to get everyone's attention away from what just happened, Suzaku spoke up.

"Um, Lelouch, who was that?" Suzaku asked, gesturing with his eyes towards the general direction C.C went.

"C.C." Lelouch said, refusing to meet Suzaku's gaze.

"I knew that, I mean, what is she to you?" Suzaku asked.

"A pain in my ass."

_Still not the answer I was looking for._

"Come now, Lulu, communication is the foundation of every good relationship." Milly chided.

Lelouch glanced up at Milly, a smirk making its way on his beautiful face. "So tell me then, how are you and…Gino, so chummy?"

"Ah, we met through mutual friends and hit it off really well from there." Milly said.

"Oh, so you two are dating?" Suzaku asked.

"Us? Oh no, no. We're just friends. I just came along for the fun of it."Gino said.

Milly nodded, as if to confirm what Gino had just said.

"Oh, really? What a shame. You both make such a … lovely couple." Lelouch commented.

For some reason, Suzaku knew that "lovely" wasn't the word Lulu wanted to use.

"Speaking of lovely couples, how exactly did you and Suzaku hook up?" Milly asked Lelouch.

"It's none of your business." Lelouch quickly said.

"Aww, you're so mean, Lulu! I answered your question." Milly said with a pout.

It was almost as if Suzaku and Gino were forgotten for the moment.

"You two actually seem to know each other well…" Gino commented.

"Yes, from our high school days. It's how we know C.C as well." Milly answered.

_Ah, well that sure cleared some things up._

C.C returned with the pizzas and placed them on the tables. This time she refrained from conversing with them and walked away after making sure they had everything they needed. From there on, the mood lightened up considerably. The four chit-chatted about trivial little things, like where they were from or what they were majoring in.

Surprisingly, Milly was the only one who knew what she wanted to do. She wanted to be a reporter and so she was majoring in journalism and minoring in Broadcast Communication. The other three males at the table were undecided yet. Hearing that Lelouch didn't know what he wanted to do surprised Suzaku a little. Lelouch seemed to always be in control, of the things he could control anyway, and seemed like the kind to have everything planned out already.

But that was just it. Suzaku knew very little about Lelouch, so he shouldn't be making presuppositions in the first place. Suzaku found himself wanting to know more – no – all that he could about Lelouch.

C.C came by later with two bowls of ice cream in her hands and placed one between Milly and Gino and the other between Suzaku and Lelouch.

"On the house." C.C said with a wink as she handed Milly and Lelouch a straw. "Enjoy. Oh, and Happy Valentine's Day."

Lelouch narrowed his eyes at C.C as she walked away. She only gave each couple one straw and no spoons, meaning they were going to have to share the straw.

Milly and Gino didn't seem to mind sharing the same straw, but it was a different case for Suzaku and Lelouch.

Suzaku's thoughts raced through his head.

_Do we dare share a straw? Wouldn't that be like…indirectly kissing?!_

Suzaku felt this face blush at that thought. Kissing Lelouch. That was the second time that night the idea was brought up.

"That witch, she did this on purpose. Who eats ice cream with a straw?" Lelouch mumbled.

Gino and Milly looked up at Lelouch and Suzaku, noticing that they hadn't begun eating.

"What's wrong?" Gino asked.

"Nothing. Here." Lelouch said as he pushed the ice cream towards Suzaku. "I'm full from the pizza."

Suzaku took it without question and began drinking the ice cream through the straw.

"Aww, but it's good! And it would be really romantic if you two share." Milly said.

_What was with Milly and "romance" anyway?_

"No, it's alright." Lelouch said.

Milly scooped up some ice cream with the tip of her finger and put it in Lelouch's face. "Here, try it."

Lelouch glared at the offending finger. "I'm not sucking your finger, Milly."

Milly's smile turned sinister. "Is that because you'd much rather suck something belonging to Suzaku?"

Suzaku, in complete shock and embarrassment, spat out the ice cream he had just drunk and in unison with Lelouch let out a loud, "Whaaa?!"

Both boys' faces were crimson red. How could Milly say those things so easily?

Milly tried to take the opportunity that Lelouch's mouth was hanging open in shock and attempted to put her finger in Lelouch's mouth. But Lelouch clamped his mouth shut in time and tried to move aside, causing Milly to plaster the offending cold dessert on Lelouch's cheek.

"Milly! Look what you did!" Lelouch reprimanded her as he searched for a napkin to wipe his mouth with.

Unfortunately, Gino had the stack of napkins by him.

"Ah, I got it." Gino said as he picked up a napkin and reached over to Lelouch, about to take Lelouch's pretty face in his hands and stare into those mesmerizing violet eyes as he wiped his cheek clean.

Suzaku wasn't having any of that.

Without thinking it through – or much at all, actually – Suzaku grabbed hold of Lelouch's chin and turned his face towards him. In the next second, Suzaku's tongue made contact with Lelouch's soft skin as he licked the ice cream clean off of Lelouch's cheek.

Lelouch went stiff as his face turned darker than a tomato's. Milly and Gino gaped at the scene in front of them wide eyed.

Suzaku pulled back and licked his own lips. "Not bad."

Lelouch swatted Suzaku's hand from his chin as he stammered out, "I-Idiot!"

He wiped his cheek with the back of his hand as he backed away from Suzaku, face still blushing madly. Seeing this made Suzaku finally realize what he just did. Needless to say, Suzaku's blush stretched ear to ear and was darker that Lelouch's, if it were possible.

Suzaku was at a loss at what to say. Lelouch didn't seem to know what to say either. Gino still looked a bit shocked. Milly was the only one to jump up from her seat and clap her hands ecstatically as she said, "How erotic! Forget romance, passion is where it is!"

~ 0 ~

Milly was lost in her fan girl world after that. She went on and on about how it was perfectly alright for Lelouch and Suzaku to give in to their sexual impulses since it was so romantic. Her definition of romantic had apparently shifted to include lust and Gino's definition of passion.

She remained like that all the way back to the dorms and even wanted to follow Lelouch and Suzaku to Lelouch's room, saying how she wanted to witness their "love," but Gino had dragged her away, saying that it was a gentleman's duty to make sure the lady was safely back in her room. While both Suzaku and Lelouch were grateful for Gino's help, the wink and thumbs up he throw at them over his shoulder made them want to strangle him.

Did they think that they were going to….

Lelouch opened the door to his room, and after a glance around, he beckoned for Suzaku to come in. Suzaku walked in, seeing that Lelouch's roommate was out. Now that he thought about it though, he had no idea who Lelouch's roommate was. He didn't even know his name. The infamous roommate that was inadvertently the cause of all this.

The thought about what Milly and Gino thought he and Lelouch were doing now was enough to make Suzaku blush hard all over again.

It was the start of another rumor. Suzaku was sure of it.

Suzaku looked up at Lelouch, who was currently removing his coat, and let the words spill out.

"I'm sorry, Lelouch. I acted without thinking. I just –" Suzaku began but he was cut off by Lelouch.

"What are you apologizing for?" Lelouch asked.

Suzaku blushed at the question.

_For licking your face, duh!_

Lelouch blinked at Suzaku, apparently remembering the little incident with the ice cream. Lelouch glanced away as he blushed a little.

"You have nothing to apologize for."Lelouch told Suzaku, still looking at a spot on his wall.

"I…don't?" Suzaku asked.

"No. That was flawless acting, Suzaku. I'm sure that Milly and Gino are completely convinced now."

_Acting…? Oh, right…_

"Y-yeah, that was it. I was making sure to keep my part of the deal." Suzaku reassured, but for some reason it seemed directed at himself rather than Lelouch.

Lelouch nodded and finally looked at Suzaku. "By the way, you haven't told me what you wanted out of this."

"I'm…still thinking about it."

Lelouch nodded again. "Alright, when you decide, just let me know."

Suzaku nodded at Lelouch, but his thoughts were elsewhere. Was Lelouch aware of what the implications of him being in his room – alone – at night – after a date – meant?

"Um, Lelouch, you do know that they think we're having sex, right?" Suzaku said as his cheeks colored red for what felt like the 50th time that night.

Lelouch froze. "What?"

"Milly and Gino. They think we're…um..y'know…cause we just came from a date and they think our relationship is based on sex and all that…"

Realization dawned on Lelouch and he quickly averted his gaze from Suzaku again. "O-oh…"

"Yeah, so, um, I'm gonna leave now." Suzaku said as he walked towards Lelouch's door but Lelouch reached out and grabbed hold of Suzaku's sleeve.

"No, wait." Lelouch said, blushing again as he glanced at anywhere but Suzaku's face. "Stay."

_What? Did Lelouch really want to…? No way!_

"Um, what?" Suzaku stupidly stuttered out, blushing madly again.

"I mean…um…let them think that. That would, um, reinforce our lie, wouldn't it? Besides, you're technically my… um, boyfriend now, right?"

Apparently this was mortifying for Lelouch too. A part of Suzaku was relieved to hear Lelouch's reasons for asking him to stay while the other was a bit…disappointed.

He was HOT, remember?

Nevertheless, Suzaku nodded. "Ok."

Lelouch's eyes met Suzaku's for a second before her looked away again and released his hold on Suzaku's sleeve. He went to his desk and turned on his laptop.

"We can watch a movie or something...if you want." Lelouch said.

"A movie is fine." Suzaku said as he walked over and sat on Lelouch's bed.

Sitting down, however, made Suzaku realize something he forgot, especially since it was poking his hip.

"Um, Lelouch?" Suzaku asked.

"Yeah?" Lelouch said as he glanced up from his computer and at Suzaku.

"Happy Valentine's Day." Suzaku said as he pulled out a small box of chocolates and handed them to Lelouch.

Lelouch seemed surprised at this but he reached out and took the box from Suzaku. "Thanks. I didn't get you anything in return. I apologize for that."

Suzaku waved it away."Don't worry about that."

Just being in his company was enough for Suzaku and is surprised him how true that was.

There were definitely going to be new rumors going around. Suzaku sighed as he ran a hand through his curly hair. Well, if any rumors were going to be spread about him, at least they were associated with Lelouch. That made it a little better.

Milly had wanted a romantic kiss on the cheek, and while there was a little incident involving cheeks, Suzaku was pretty sure that wasn't what Milly had in mind. Suzaku didn't get to kiss Lelouch, but he supposed that licking him would have to be close enough. Some people would take licking someone's face as something a "beast" would do, but Suzaku decided to just take that as his Valentine's gift and be content with it. And content he was.

~ 0 ~

* * *

I got reviews telling me to continue this, and so here it is, Chapter 2! I hope that it's as good as the first chapter.

I wanted to post this up on Valentine's Day, since it fit so well, and ended up neglecting homework to get this done, lol. But it's all good.

Thanks for reading and I hope you enjoyed! Oh and Happy Valentine's Day!

Review please!

**Disclaimer:** I don't own anything.


	3. RHI: Trouble in Paradise

**Rumor Has It: Trouble in Paradise**

* * *

For a baby that was supposedly his and Lelouch's love-child, it was horrendous. Quite frankly, it was almost an insult to him and Lelouch.

It was bald, dirty, and one of its arms had a dent in it. Suzaku could have sworn it was older than him too. And to add insult to injury, it looked nothing remotely close to the sexy deity Lelouch was. It didn't have Lelouch's alluring, captivating amethyst eyes. Or his silky, midnight black hair. Or his adorable, perfect nose. Or his smooth, porcelain skin.

Nothing!

And it didn't have anything of Suzaku's either so people couldn't blame the love-child's hideousness on him. Neither he nor Lelouch had anything to do with this scarecrow looking child.

Yes, IT. The stupid, plastic doll currently lying on Suzaku's bed. Scratch that. Suzaku picked up the doll and tossed it unto his desk chair.

The fangirls would throw a fit if they knew Suzaku treated the thing with such carelessness, but Suzaku didn't care. Lelouch himself hated it. He had shoved it into Suzaku's hands and never looked back.

So, I'm sure you're wondering what our poor hero Suzaku has gotten himself into this time. To Suzaku's credit, it wasn't his fault at all. It was the teachers! And stupid class projects!

It all began when a woman came into their science class. The woman glanced around the room but for some reason, her eyes landed and stayed on Suzaku and Lelouch. After getting a nod from Lloyd, the woman stepped forward and addressed the class.

"Hello, I'm Professor Cecile Croomy, but you can all call me Cecile. I'm a psychology teacher here at Ashford." Cecile said as an introduction.

As if knowing that the students would be wondering what she was doing in their class, Cecile continued.

"As some of you may know, Psychology is a science and after much convincing, I got Lloyd to agree on a joint class project with me." Cecile said.

From behind Cecile, Lloyd skipped across the class straight out the door. He was back in a few seconds though, pulling a cart. The contents in the cart were covered by a sheet.

"This project is to examine stress and the psychological affects it can have on us." Cecile said as she stepped aside, allowing Lloyd to speak.

"And what better way than with THE most ANNOYING things to exist on this planet~?" Lloyd all but beamed as he pulled off the sheet from the cart, dramatically revealing baby dolls. "Babies~!"

_Oh God no!_

If someone had taken a picture of the students in that moment, they would have all had stunned, gaping faces.

_Babies?_

Lloyd outright laughed at their faces.

"I don't know if they're THE most annoying, but they can be quite stressful to handle, especially on college students with other stressful obligations, like exams and work. But this is the point of the project! Doesn't it sound fun?" Cecile smiled brightly.

_No! I already have Lelouch and all the rumors that come with that!_

Suzaku could already hear all of the new rumors that would spread now.

"Now, this is a project that requires a partner, but you all already have your assigned lab partners, so we can skip over that." Cecile said.

Cecile went on to explain what they were to do and how to measure their observations and all that other stuff that made Suzaku hate science. While she did that, Lloyd handed out the plastic dolls to each lab station.

Suzaku had never seen an uglier doll in his life and by the look of disdain on Lelouch's delicate features, neither had he.

Suzaku glanced up at Cecile as she continued to ramble off and noticed that she was watching him and Lelouch intently. Was it just him, or was Cecile really intrigued by him and Lelouch?

Oh no. She knew about the rumors didn't she?

Wait.

Did all of his teachers know about THE rumor about him and Lelouch?

_Crap._

Suzaku rested his forehead in his hand. So his teachers were well aware of his "love life" that wasn't actually true but deep down Suzaku wished it was even though it was quite embarrassing and it made him feel like some kind of lecherous pervert because his and Lelouch's relationship was supposedly based on passion that wasn't exactly passion but some kind of uncontrollable lust?

Great. That must make a wonderful impression of him on them.

"This is for a grade, so no slacking off!" Lloyd said before he dismissed the class.

Oh, the irony. Lelouch and him where rumored to be…copulating all the time and now this thing happens. It quickly became their "love-child" and the fangirls were having a field day.

All the girls on campus had squealed when Suzaku and Lelouch walked out of class with it, but honestly, who would be caught dead with this thing?

Suzaku stared at the offending piece of junk on his desk chair.

Unless… Suzaku gave it a make-over? That could work.

~ 0 ~

"You colored its head?" Taking a closer look, Lelouch added: "With a marker?"

"Yeah. It's not bald anymore." Suzaku said as he held it up for Lelouch.

"I'm pretty sure that goes against child care ethics or something." Lelouch responded.

"Yeah, well, it was the only thing I could think of to salvage it. If you ask me, I should get a best parent award or something." Suzaku said, placing the doll back unto the desk.

"For permanently marking your child's head? Why black anyway?"

"What's wrong with black?" Suzaku asked.

Lelouch shrugged as he picked up the doll and looked at it.

"You colored in the eyes too?" Lelouch asked.

Suzaku simply nodded.

"Why purple?" Lelouch asked, glancing at Suzaku with narrowed eyes.

_Oops._

"Is it supposed to look like me?" Lelouch asked with a frown.

_Double oops._

"Never. This thing is nowhere near as beautiful." Suzaku said as he shook his head.

Lelouch's eyes widened a fraction and Suzaku quickly caught himself. He couldn't help blushing a little.

"I mean – it's ugly. It would make ANYONE look beautiful." Suzaku said as a bad attempt to cover up the compliment he didn't mean to admit.

Lelouch finally broke eye contact with Suzaku and looked back at the doll. "I see…"

Suzaku felt a bit uncomfortable. He needed to get the easy going, friendly atmosphere back and so he opened his big, fat mouth.

"Anyway, it's only natural for babies to look like their mama." Suzaku said.

_Triple oops._

Lelouch's head whipped around and stared at Suzaku wide eyed for a moment before narrowing his eyes at him.

"Mama? ME?" Lelouch demanded as he slid the doll over to Suzaku like if it had burned him.

"I – I mean, I'M not its mama!"Suzaku tried to defend himself as he pushed it back over to Lelouch.

"I'm NOT its mama either!" Lelouch retorted as he pushed it back over to Suzaku.

"It's needs a mama!" Suzaku defended, shoving back towards Lelouch.

"No it doesn't! It's just a damned doll." Lelouch protested, shoving back to Suzaku.

"It's not just a doll, it's a grade and we need to take it seriously. Babies need both father and mother figures!" Suzaku argued, shoving it towards Lelouch again.

"Then you can be the mother figure!" Lelouch retorted, pushing it back to Suzaku.

"No, that's you! You're more feminine than me!" Suzaku argued, shoving it yet again back towards Lelouch.

"What? Feminine?" Lelouch glared, shoving it back towards Suzaku.

"I – I – Take it! I had it for the past two days!" Suzaku shoved it back at Lelouch.

"I don't want it!" Lelouch shoved it back to Suzaku.

"Lelouch!"

"Suzaku!"

That's when it happened. The damned thing started wailing to the top of its lungs. Of course Cecile would put some kind of mechanism in there with baby cries. Wouldn't be stressful without it, now would it? It didn't have lungs so it was beyond Suzaku how the blasted thing could be so loud.

In the heat of the moment, Suzaku reacted on instinct. He grabbed the doll by the leg and threw it. Unfortunately, he threw it towards the direction of the window. The open window. Suzaku's good aim be damned. The doll flew straight out the window and landed God knows where.

_Damn! _

Would this be his fourth oops?

Suzaku gaped at the open window. He hadn't meant to do that. A glance at Lelouch affirmed Suzaku that Lelouch was as shocked as him, if his wide eyes and hanging jaw were any indication.

"Suzaku!" Lelouch scolded as he got up to look out the window.

"Sorry, that was an accident!" Suzaku apologized as he got up intent on following Lelouch to the window, but something at the corner of his eye caught his attention.

Turing around, it was only then that Suzaku noticed the rest of the class and Cecile standing around them. When had they come in? The only thing worse than the stares of the other students was the huge grin plastered on Cecile's face.

"Stressed already boys?" Cecile asked almost too sweetly.

~ 0 ~

The love-child had landed in some bush outside but that wasn't enough to protect it from flying out of a second floor window. Its arm was broken and it had a dent on its forehead.

Cecile had checked the other student's dolls and dismissed the class early, except for Suzaku and Lelouch. They were apparently the only ones experiencing problems so far. Or stress. Whatever. Since Suzaku was the one to fling the doll out the window, Suzaku had to get it.

The only thing worse than that was the rumors that Suzaku heard circulating while he had walked down the hallways. Lelouch and Suzaku were bad parents. Lelouch and Suzaku were a bad couple. Lelouch and Suzaku aren't meant to be together.

Who starts these things? Who doesn't have a life and decided to ruin Suzaku's? Either way, the way things were going, Suzaku and Lelouch weren't keeping up their act as well as they thought they were.

_Damn._

Either way, those other matters would have to wait till later. He was currently sitting beside Lelouch, crippled love-child lying on Cecile's desk, and Cecile patiently seated in front of them, almost as if she was a therapist.

"Before we do anything else, I should confess. You guys are the real reason I pestered Lloyd to let me assign this project." Cecile said.

Both Suzaku and Lelouch's heads snapped up at this.

Satisfied with their attention, Cecile continued. "I wanted to study male relationships, particularly, male parenting. Ashford's rather traditional and conservative, so I was excited when I heard about you two. Your relationship sounded promising but I suppose that there will always be troubles in paradise, am I right?"

Suzaku could feel the color drain from his face. So she did know about the rumors!

"So, mind telling me what's wrong? I'd love to get some insights from you both." Cecile said as she laced her fingers together and rested her chin on them.

"Um… we – " Suzaku began before he was cut off by Lelouch.

"I'm sorry, professor, but this is a personal matter between Suzaku and I." Lelouch said.

Whoa! That may be true, but Suzaku would never have the guts to talk to a superior like that. Lelouch didn't seem to have any problems with that though.

Cecile nodded at Lelouch. "Understandable. But may I ask just one question?"

Before Lelouch could deny her request, Suzaku nodded.

"Yes." Suzaku said, ignoring the pissed look Lelouch gave him.

"Were you two arguing about the doll?" Cecile asked.

Suzaku nodded.

"Why?" Cecile went on to ask.

"Um, responsibilities?" Suzaku said as he rubbed the back of his neck.

"Like?" Cecile probed.

"Who should take care of it next….or what roles we are to play…" Suzaku answered.

Cecile leaned forward at this. "What kind of roles?"

"I thought it was just one question?" Lelouch interrupted.

Suzaku glanced at Lelouch, noticing the light scowl on his face. Lelouch wasn't angry at him, was he?

Cecile leaned back, apparently admitting defeat. "Well, at least you boys are reacting well to the project." Cecile commented.

"Reacting well?" Suzaku questioned.

_I just threw the doll out the window._

"The point still is to measure stress, y'know. I'm just particularly curious on how your relationship handles stress when handling a baby and judging by the way you threw the doll out of the window, I can see that you weren't in the best of moods, Suzaku."

"It's not just the doll…" Suzaku said under his breath, but Cecile heard him.

"Oh?" She inquired.

Damn. She's good.

Before Suzaku could answer, Lelouch stood up. "If you'll excuse us, Suzaku and I will be leaving now."

Suzaku stood up as Cecile hastily said: "I'm here to help."

Suzaku paused in his tracks.

Help? Help what? His and Lelouch's non-existent relationship? It hadn't occurred to Suzaku that although none of this was real to him and Lelouch, it was to everyone around them. Was it really alright to lie to everyone like this? To tell everyone that he and Lelouch had something special when they didn't? Reality was far from the façade he and Lelouch put on. Suzaku didn't even know what they were. Were he and Lelouch acquaintances? Friends? Fakes?

Suzaku had to spend time with this person. Pretend that they were lovers, and yet, Suzaku knew nothing about him. They were still complete strangers to each other. The only thing he knew about Lelouch was his name and likewise, Lelouch only knew Suzaku's name.

Suzaku wanted to know more about Lelouch. He didn't dare think that he wanted to know everything he could.

Suzaku grabbed Lelouch's wrist before the raven could walk out the door. "If it's alright, I want to hear this."

Lelouch looked back at Suzaku. "What?"

Suzaku ignored Lelouch and addressed Cecile. "Um, do you…can you help us with our relationship?"

Cecile's face brightened up considerably at Suzaku's question. "Yes! Aside from psychology, I also studied counseling and other little things."

Lelouch leaned close to Suzaku. "What are you doing?"

Suzaku figured that Lelouch was trying to be discreet, but Suzaku wasn't going to let Lelouch have his way this time.

"Helping us." Suzaku said loud enough to be sure Cecile heard him.

Lelouch's eyes quickly glanced over at Cecile before glaring into Suzaku's. Suzaku lowered his voice for what he was going to say next, however.

"Lelouch, people don't think we're good together anymore." Suzaku said.

"What?" Lelouch asked.

"The rumors. If you want to sustain this farce, then getting some advice wouldn't hurt."

Lelouch blinked at him.

"Besides, you still owe me a favor." Suzaku continued.

"Is this what you're wasting your favor on?" Lelouch inquired.

"No. This will help us both in keeping our little pretend game and so it's in your best interest to play along. Until the time comes, I am going to do the best I can with this act and you should too."

_That way, at the end of all this, you won't be able to deny my request._

Lelouch continued to stare at Suzaku, seemingly processing everything before he spoke.

"I don't like people meddling in my business." Lelouch said.

"Just let me handle this, ok?" Suzaku asked.

Lelouch looked at anywhere in the room except at Suzaku for a few seconds before meeting Suzaku's gaze again.

"Fine." Lelouch acquiesced.

"Thanks."

Suzaku smiled lightly as he brought his hand up and ran the tips of his fingers across Lelouch's cheek. Lelouch was caught off guard for a moment and Suzaku had no idea what possessed him to do that.

Cecile cleared her throat loudly, getting the attention of both males. Suzaku was glad for the distraction.

"I question if you really need my help though." Cecile commented.

Suzaku felt his cheeks heat up a little as he stepped away from Lelouch.

"No, um, we'd like to hear any advice you can give us. I don't think it's ever bad to reflect on relationships, right Lelouch?" Suzaku said as he sat back down in the chair he was previously occupying.

Lelouch simply nodded as he also sat back down.

Cecile clasped her hands together. "Wonderful. I'll start by asking if there is anything you'd like to mention first or if there is anything in specific you'd like to discuss."

Suzaku glanced at Lelouch who simply shook his head.

"Not really." Suzaku said.

"Ok, then are you alright if I analyze you both?" Cecile asked.

Lelouch shook his head again as Suzaku responded. "No, that's alright."

"I'm quite perceptive, so don't be surprised with the things I've already picked up on. I also don't want to make this too formal, so please relax and don't worry about being professional or anything. I can also be quite straightforward, so if any of you feel uncomfortable at any moment, feel free to ask me to stop." Cecile informed them.

Both boys nodded.

"Now, before we do anything else, Lelouch, would you please hold Suzaku's hand?" Cecile asked.

Lelouch stared at Cecile, almost like if he didn't comprehend what she said. Lelouch glanced down at his hands resting on his lap before looking over at Suzaku. Seeing that Lelouch looked like he wasn't going to make any moves soon, Suzaku lifted his hand from his lap and reached over for Lelouch's before he was stopped by Cecile.

"No, Suzaku. Let Lelouch hold yours." Cecile said.

Suzaku retracted his hand and placed it back on his lap. Looking over at Lelouch, Suzaku noticed that he appeared a bit stiff. Lelouch glanced over at Cecile before looking back over at Suzaku again. Suzaku hadn't realized that Lelouch's hands were clenching his pants until Lelouch slowly released his grip, but he still didn't move his hand towards Suzaku's.

"Why are you so hesitant?" Cecile asked Lelouch.

"I-I'm not." Lelouch responded before he quickly released his grip, reached over and grabbed hold of Suzaku's hand.

Lelouch's hand was surprisingly cold, but more than that, Suzaku couldn't get over the way Lelouch's hands trembled ever so slightly.

"Lelouch?" Suzaku called out softly.

Why was Lelouch so nervous? Did he hate holding hands? Could Lelouch have been in a bad relationship before? Is that why he didn't want people asking him out?

Suzaku turned his hand over so that his palm was facing up and wrapped his fingers around Lelouch's hand. He put his other hand over Lelouch's and enclosed Lelouch's hand in his.

"Suzaku, does he initiate contact or is it always you?" Cecile asked Suzaku.

"Um, huh?" Suzaku stuttered dumbly as he was brought out of his thoughts.

"No, I also…" Lelouch began but he let his sentence fall.

"Lelouch, you like Suzaku, don't you?" Cecile asked him.

Lelouch blinked at Cecile and in that moment, Suzaku could feel his heart stop.

Lelouch nodded. "Yes…"

Suzaku released the breathe he didn't know he was holding just as he felt himself blush. He fought it against it though. Of course Lelouch would say 'yes.' They did agree to pretend to be lovers and to tell everyone that they were together.

"Then kiss him." Cecile commanded Lelouch.

Lelouch blinked blankly at her and visibly stiffened as Suzaku held his breathe again.

"Excuse me?" Lelouch asked.

"Kiss him" Cecile repeated.

Lelouch's body was still rigid. Suzaku observed Lelouch.

Something was definitely wrong. When this all started, Lelouch was in the lounge because he wanted to get away from something. And when he asked Suzaku to help him, it wasn't just to stop people from pining after him and confessing their love to him. It was more than that. There was something deeper that Lelouch was trying to hide.

It was true that Suzaku was dying to kiss Lelouch (where did that come from?) but Suzaku wasn't going to do this to Lelouch. He wasn't going to get a kiss from Lelouch like this. If Lelouch had some kind of trust in him, Suzaku didn't want to lose it. If something was wrong, then he didn't want Lelouch to associate any bad feelings or thoughts with him. He wouldn't be able to stand that.

"You want to work on this relationship, don't you?" Cecile asked.

Suzaku tightened his hold on Lelouch's hand.

"It's ok. He doesn't have to." Suzaku intercepted.

Cecile narrowed her eyes at them. "Correct me if I'm mistaken, but aren't you boys intimate?"

"I – um, yes, but we hate public display of affections." Suzaku weakly offered.

Cecile kept looking at Suzaku skeptically.

Who was Suzaku kidding. She could tell that he and Lelouch had never actually kissed before. Much less done anything other than literally sleep in a bed together. And Suzaku knew that she could see that Lelouch wasn't comfortable with this.

Suzaku knew that Lelouch knew that Cecile was suspicious as well. But before Cecile could voice what she had in mind, Lelouch grabbed hold of the front of Suzaku's shirt and pulled him towards himself. The quick motion startled Suzaku and almost made him fall out of his chair but Suzaku had other matters to be concerned over, like the soft lips against his.

Soft yet firm lips that belonged to a certain raven haired beauty. To be fair, Suzaku had no idea Lelouch was going to do this so he was unprepared. His eyes were wide open in shock and his lips were unresponsive against Lelouch's. But to Suzaku's credit, Lelouch wasn't doing anything much either other than pressing his lips against Suzaku's and squeezing his eyes closed.

Suzaku wasn't going to let this opportunity simply go. He'd be damned if he did. If they were going to kiss, then Suzaku was going to make sure it was the best damned kiss Lelouch ever received. So much so that he'd never forget it just like he was sure he himself would never forget this moment.

Closing his eyes, Suzaku lifted the arm that was previously limp with shock against his side and ran his fingers through Lelouch's hair, brushing it aside from his face. He gently cupped the side of Lelouch's face and held him there, returning the kiss by pressing his lips firmly against Lelouch's until he felt Lelouch pull away.

Damn. Too soon.

As far as first kisses go between them, it could have been much better. Should have been much better. But Suzaku wasn't going to complain. He finally got to kiss Lelouch. THE Lelouch. Suzaku could hardly believe it. Sure he was the sexiest guy most people had ever laid eyes on, but they'd never gotten to kiss him. Only Suzaku has. And judging by the awkward way Lelouch kissed, it was pretty easy to come to the conclusion that Lelouch hadn't done much kissing either.

Suzaku's head would have swelled with pride if he wasn't feeling dizzy. Finally remembering that Cecile was also in the room, Suzaku let go of Lelouch. But before he could say anything to her, Lelouch stood up.

"Thank you for your help, Miss Cecile, but Suzaku and I should really get going." Lelouch said quickly before he turned and walked towards the door.

Suzaku stood up as well. "Yes, thank you."

Before he could follow Lelouch, however, Cecile held up her hand, motioning for Suzaku to wait. She reached for the doll that had been forgotten on her desk and held up to Suzaku.

"Don't forget this." Cecile said.

_Oh yeah._

"Oh, right." Suzaku reached forward and took the doll. "Thank you."

"See you in class." Cecile said as she sat back in her chair.

Suzaku nodded and turned around, noticing that Lelouch had already left the room. Walking out into the hallway, Lelouch was nowhere to be seen.

Lelouch had ditched him. And he had left him with the doll. Again.

Suzaku sighed as he shoved the doll under his arm and made his way back to his room. That's where he saw him. Lelouch was sitting the floor, by the wall next to Suzaku's dorm room. Waiting for him.

Suzaku felt déjà vu wash over him.

It was almost like the day Lelouch had been waiting for him. The day Suzaku became his "lover."

Lelouch glanced up as he heard Suzaku approaching but didn't get up. Suzaku wasn't sure what to do. He felt bad that he had made Lelouch go though…whatever that was, and now Lelouch seemed down.

Or did he really? Lelouch wasn't exactly the happy-zippy type. Or was he? Suzaku didn't know Lelouch that well. He hardly knew anything at all. But he wanted to.

Suzaku leaned against the wall and slid down it until he was sitting beside Lelouch. The two sat there in silence for a while until Suzaku finally spoke.

"I'm sorry."

Lelouch lifted his head again and looked at Suzaku. "What for?"

"For making you sit through that." Suzaku answered.

Lelouch looked away again. "I should be the one apologizing."

It was Suzaku's turn to lift his head and look at Lelouch. "Huh?"

"For kissing you."

Suzaku's cheek's flushed.

"N – no! Not at all! I'd kiss you again any time…" Suzaku said before he caught himself.

And damn, did Lelouch's lips look perfectly kissable when he frowned like that.

"You can't tell me that was a good kiss. It wasn't." Lelouch said.

"No…but, still…" Suzaku began before he was cut off by Lelouch.

"You'd kiss me again because of how beautiful I am, right?"

Suzaku visibly swallowed as he nodded. "No point denying it. The whole campus is smitten by you."

_Including me._

Lelouch looked away from Suzaku, not looking pleased at Suzaku's answer.

"Tell me about you." Suzaku blurted out.

That at least got Lelouch to look at him again, albeit a bit confused.

"We're doing this, and yet, I know nothing about you." Suzaku clarified.

"What are you talking about? We're not doing anything. It's all pretense." Lelouch responded.

"And if I don't want it to be that way?"

"What?"

"N-nothing. It's just that, it doesn't mean we can't be friends."

Lelouch shook his head. "Doesn't matter. As long as I'm a pretty boy, that's enough, isn't it?"

"What?"

"Never mind. Listen, all I need from you Suzaku is your cooperation. If you don't want to do this anymore, then just tell me."

"No, I'll still…do my part."

Lelouch nodded at Suzaku's answer in acknowledgement. Both he and Suzaku sat in silence for a few minutes. It was a little awkward since both boys weren't sure what to say or if they should be the one to get up and leave first.

"Hand me the stupid thing." Lelouch said, breaking the silence as he gestured to the doll at Suzaku's side.

"You're going to take it?" Suzaku asked as he handed it over to Lelouch.

"It is for a grade." Lelouch answered as he reached for it but Suzaku moved it away from his grasp.

"It' alright, I can hold on to it." Suzaku said.

"Suzaku…"

"It's fine. We don't really have to be parents to it. Who would really know as long as we don't damage it anymore? It should be fine."

Lelouch nodded slowly. "Yeah, ok. Thanks."

"No problem."

And it really wasn't a problem. Even if he and Lelouch weren't considered friends, Suzaku didn't have any problem helping Lelouch. Suzaku had a feeling that Lelouch could ask anything of him and Suzaku would be willing to do it.

Why was he feeling this way, anyway? He didn't owe Lelouch anything. It was actually the other way around, Lelouch owed him a favor.

Suzaku walked into his room and let the door shut closed on its own. Turning on his lamp, he noticed that Gino wasn't in the room. Great. Suzaku tossed the doll unto his bed as he fell unto his back beside it and just laid there, staring at the ceiling.

Suzaku brought his fingers to his lips. Lelouch had kissed him. Suzaku blushed as he remembered the sensation of those lips against his. It wasn't the best kiss he'd ever had, but he meant what he told Lelouch when he said he'd kiss him again.

Suzaku replayed the kiss in his head. Lelouch really didn't seem experienced. Could that have been his first kiss? Was Suzaku his first kiss? It was a bit strange though. For a guy who most likely had everyone throwing themselves at his feet, he'd never kissed anyone before?

Suzaku turned over unto his side trying to clear his head. He was thinking too much. Something that he only started doing after he met Lelouch. It was like Suzaku couldn't turn his brain off no matter how much he wanted to. Lelouch's face would appear in his head. And his voice would ring in his ears.

It was like he was obsessed with everything Lelouch.

But Lelouch could care less about him.

It was obvious to Suzaku after today. Lelouch didn't even care to be friends with him. He didn't want to get to know Suzaku like Suzaku wanted to desperately know more about Lelouch. He just wanted Suzaku to put on an act for him and that's it.

An act that was quite frankly killing him. Being around Lelouch. Talking to him. Holding his hand. Kissing him. It was too much and yet not enough.

Suzaku felt his eyes sting. Blinking quickly, he tried to hold back the tears that were threatening to spill. Great. Now he was crying like some school girl who found out her crush didn't like her back.

That's what this was, wasn't it? He liked Lelouch. And not just because he was the hottest guy on campus, but because he genuinely liked him. Suzaku could feel it. Heck, he was crying over him.

Suzaku reached for the doll lying beside him and brought it closer to himself.

"Mini Lelouch. That's your name."

Suzaku chuckled at his own stupidity. Yeah, he had a problem.

~ 0 ~

"Well, at least you managed to not destroy it anymore than it already was since that last time." Cecile said as she collected the doll from Suzaku and Lelouch.

"Yeah, um, your talk really helped." Suzaku said.

"Much." Lelouch chimed in.

"I'm glad." Cecile said as she moved on to the other group.

The project was finally over and Suzaku felt immensely relived. He was tired of all the talk about the love-child. For the rest of the week after the incident, he and Lelouch were able to work together and put on the best act they had so far. They were loving, nurturing parents to an ugly piece of plastic. At least in public that is. Back in his room, Suzaku would toss the thing in a corner and forget about it until it started crying or something, until Lelouch reprogrammed it, that is. Lelouch figured it was probably on a timer or something and made it stop crying. How Lelouch did it, Suzaku had no idea. He didn't understand the wiring or how Lelouch even knew how to do such a thing, but he was glad. So in all honesty, this project was a breeze.

Now if only Suzaku's life could be as easy.

~ 0 ~

* * *

And so this is finally up. I'm sorry for the extremely late update! I hit a writer's block and waited for inspiration to slap me in the face and tadah, this is the result. I don't know how it turned out like this. I was trying to make this story light and funny and yet it somehow became a bit melodramatic and sad.

I don't know where this is going, so I'm sorry if the next update is a little slow (maybe not, who knows? Inspiration might strike sooner) but I am also working on another story that will hopefully be up soon (and that will hopefully be good).

Thanks for reading and I hope this was enjoyable!

**Disclaimer:** Code Geass and the characters do not belong to me!


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